Method for Wireless Communication, Terminal Device, and Network Device

This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/CN2024/082524, filed on Mar. 19, 2024, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and more specifically, to a method for wireless communication, a terminal device, and a network device.

Some communications systems (for example, non-terrestrial network (non-terrestrial network, NTN) systems) have relatively large transmission delays. In these communications systems, if a terminal device communicates in a half-duplex mode, uplink transmission of the terminal device may conflict with downlink reception of the terminal device, or may conflict with transmission of another terminal device. Therefore, in these communications systems, how to resolve a transmission conflict in the half-duplex mode becomes a technical problem to be urgently resolved.

The present application provides a method for wireless communication, a terminal device, and a network device. The following describes aspects related to embodiments of the present application.

According to a first aspect, a method for wireless communication is provided, including: determining, by a first terminal device based on first indication information, a first resource related to half-duplex communication, where the first resource is used by the first terminal device to perform uplink transmission and/or downlink reception in an NTN.

According to a second aspect, a method for wireless communication is provided, including: transmitting, by a network device, first indication information to a first terminal device, where the first indication information is used by the first terminal device to determine a first resource related to half-duplex communication, and the first resource is used by the first terminal device to perform uplink transmission and/or downlink reception in an NTN.

According to a third aspect, a terminal device is provided, where the terminal device is a first terminal device, and the terminal device includes: a determining unit, determining, based on first indication information, a first resource related to half-duplex communication, where the first resource is used by the first terminal device to perform uplink transmission and/or downlink reception in an NTN.

According to a fourth aspect, a network device is provided, where the network device includes a transmitting unit, transmitting first indication information to a first terminal device, where the first indication information is used by the first terminal device to determine a first resource related to half-duplex communication, and the first resource is used by the first terminal device to perform uplink transmission and/or downlink reception in an NTN.

According to a fifth aspect, a communications apparatus is provided, including a memory and a processor, where the memory is configured to store a program, and the processor is configured to invoke the program in the memory to execute a method according to the first aspect or the second aspect.

According to a sixth aspect, an apparatus is provided, including a processor, invoking a program from a memory to execute a method according to the first aspect or the second aspect.

According to a seventh aspect, a chip is provided, including a processor, invoking a program from a memory, to cause a device on which the chip is installed to execute a method according to the first aspect or the second aspect.

According to an eighth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, where the computer-readable storage medium stores a program, and the program causes a computer to execute a method according to the first aspect or the second aspect.

According to a ninth aspect, a computer program product is provided, including a program, where the program causes a computer to execute a method according to the first aspect or the second aspect.

According to a tenth aspect, a computer program is provided, where the computer program causes a computer to execute a method according to the first aspect or the second aspect.

A first terminal device in embodiments of the present application may determine, based on first indication information, a first resource for half-duplex communication. The first resource is used by the first terminal device to perform wireless communication in an NTN. It may be learned that in an NTN system with a relatively long transmission delay, even if a timing advance between a network device and the first terminal device is not aligned, the first terminal device may perform uplink transmission and/or downlink reception on a half-duplex dedicated resource, thereby preventing a conflict with downlink reception of the first terminal device or transmission of another terminal device.

The following describes the technical solutions in embodiments of the present application with reference to the accompanying drawings in embodiments of the present application. Apparently, the described embodiments are some rather than all of embodiments of the present application. For embodiments of the present application, all other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts fall within the protection scope of the present application.

Embodiments of the present application may be applied to various communications systems. For example, embodiments of the present application may be applied to a global system for mobile communications (global system of mobile communication, GSM), a code division multiple access (code division multiple access, CDMA) system, a wideband code division multiple access (wideband code division multiple access, WCDMA) system, general packet radio service (general packet radio service, GPRS), a long-term evolution (long term evolution, LTE) system, an advanced long-term evolution (advanced long term evolution, LTE-A) system, a new radio (new radio, NR) system, an evolved system of an NR system, an LTE-based access to unlicensed spectrum (LTE-based access to unlicensed spectrum, LTE-U) system, an NR-based access to unlicensed spectrum (NR-based access to unlicensed spectrum, NR-U) system, a universal mobile telecommunications system (universal mobile telecommunication system, UMTS), wireless local area networks (wireless local area network, WLAN), wireless fidelity (wireless fidelity, WiFi), and a 5th-generation (5th-generation, 5G) system. Embodiments of the present application may be further applied to another communications system, such as a future communications system. The future communications system may be, for example, a 6th-generation (6th-generation, 6G) mobile communications system, or a satellite (satellite) communications system.

A quantity of connections supported by a conventional communications system is limited, and is also easy to implement. However, with development of communications technologies, a communications system may support not only conventional cellular communications but also one or more other types of communications. For example, the communications system may support one or more of the following communications: device-to-device (device to device, D2D) communications, machine to machine (machine to machine, M2M) communications, machine type communication (machine type communication, MTC), enhanced machine type communication (enhanced MTC, eMTC), vehicle to vehicle (vehicle to vehicle, V2V) communications, vehicle to everything (vehicle to everything, V2X) communications, or the like. Embodiments of the present application may also be applied to a communications system that supports the foregoing communication manners.

The communications system in embodiments of the present application may be applied to a carrier aggregation (carrier aggregation, CA) scenario, a dual connectivity (dual connectivity, DC) scenario, or a standalone (standalone, SA) networking scenario.

The communications system in embodiments of the present application may be applied to an unlicensed spectrum. The unlicensed spectrum may also be considered as a shared spectrum. Alternatively, the communications system in embodiments of the present application may be applied to an unlicensed spectrum. The licensed spectrum may also be considered as a dedicated spectrum.

Embodiments of the present application may be applied to an NTN system. As an example, the NTN system may be a 4G-based NTN system, an NR-based NTN system, an NTN system based on an internet of things (internet of things, IoT), or an NTN system based on a narrow band internet of things (narrow band internet of things, NB-IoT).

The communications system may include one or more terminal devices. The terminal device mentioned in embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as a user equipment (user equipment, UE), an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile site, a mobile station (mobile station, MS), a mobile terminal (mobile Terminal, MT), a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal, a wireless communications device, a user agent, a user apparatus, or the like.

In some embodiments, the terminal device may be a station (STATION, ST) in a WLAN. In some embodiments, the terminal device may be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (session initiation protocol, SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (wireless local loop, WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (personal digital assistant, PDA) device, a handheld device with a wireless communication function, a computing device, or another processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a next-generation communications system (such as an NR system), a terminal device in a future evolved public land mobile network (public land mobile network, PLMN), or the like.

In some embodiments, the terminal device may be a device that provides a user with voice and/or data connectivity. For example, the terminal device may be a handheld device, a vehicle-mounted device, or the like that has a wireless connection function. In some specific examples, the terminal device may be a mobile phone (mobile phone), a Pad (Pad), a notebook computer, a laptop computer, a mobile internet device (mobile internet device, MID), a wearable device, a virtual reality (virtual reality, VR) device, an augmented reality (augmented reality, AR) device, a wireless terminal in industrial control (industrial control), a wireless terminal in self-driving (self driving), a wireless terminal in remote medical surgery (remote medical surgery), a wireless terminal in smart grid (smart grid), a wireless terminal in transportation safety (transportation safety), a wireless terminal in smart city (smart city), a wireless terminal in smart home (smart home), or the like.

In some embodiments, the terminal device may be deployed on land. For example, the terminal device may be deployed indoors or outdoors. In some embodiments, the terminal device may be deployed on a surface, such as on a ship. In some embodiments, terminal devices may be deployed in the air, such as on aircrafts, balloons, and satellites.

In addition to the terminal device, the communications system may further include one or more network devices. The network device in embodiments of the present application may be a device for communicating with the terminal device. The network device may also be referred to as an access network device or a radio access network device. The network device may be, for example, a base station. The network device in embodiments of the present application may be a radio access network (radio access network, RAN) node (or device) that connects the terminal device to a wireless network. The base station may broadly cover various names in the following, or may be replaced with the following names, such as a NodeB (NodeB), an evolved NodeB (evolved NodeB, eNB), a next-generation NodeB (next generation NodeB, gNB), a relay station, an access point (access point, AP), a transmitting and receiving point (transmitting and receiving point, TRP), a transmitting point (transmitting point, TP), a master eNodeB MeNB, a secondary eNodeB SeNB, a multi-standard radio (MSR) node, a home base station, a network controller, an access node, a wireless node, a transmission node, a transceiver node, a base band unit (base band unit, BBU), a remote radio unit (remote radio unit, RRU), an active antenna unit (active antenna unit, AAU), a remote radio head (remote radio head, RRH), a central unit (central unit, CU), a distributed unit (distributed unit, DU), a positioning node, or the like. The base station may be a macro base station, a micro base station, a relay node, a donor node, or the like, or a combination thereof. Alternatively, the base station may be a communications module, a modem, or a chip disposed in the device or apparatus described above. Alternatively, the base station may be a mobile switching center, a device that functions as a base station in D2D, V2X, or M2M communications, a network-side device in a 6G network, a device that functions as a base station in a future communications system, or the like. The base station may support networks of a same access technology or different access technologies. A specific technology and a specific device form used by the network device are not limited in embodiments of the present application.

The base station may be fixed or mobile. For example, a helicopter or an unmanned aerial vehicle may be configured to serve as a mobile base station, and one or more cells may move according to a location of the mobile base station. In other examples, a helicopter or an unmanned aerial vehicle may be configured to function as a device in communication with another base station.

In some deployments, the network device in embodiments of the present application may be a CU or a DU, or the network device includes a CU and a DU. The gNB may further include an AAU.

By way of example rather than limitation, in embodiments of the present application, the network device may have a mobility characteristic. For example, the network device may be a mobile device. In some embodiments of the present application, the network device may be a satellite or a balloon station. In some embodiments of the present application, the network device may alternatively be a base station disposed in a location such as land or water.

In embodiments of the present application, the network device may provide a service for a cell. The terminal device communicates with the network device by using a transmission resource (for example, a frequency resource or a spectrum resource) used by the cell. The cell may be a cell corresponding to the network device (for example, a base station). The cell may belong to a macro base station or may belong to a base station corresponding to a small cell (small cell). The small cell herein may include a metro cell (metro cell), a micro cell (micro cell), a pico cell (pico cell), a femto cell (femto cell), or the like. These small cells have characteristics of small coverage and low transmit power, and are suitable for providing a high-rate data transmission service.

Exemplarily,is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a communications system according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in, a communications systemmay include a network device, and the network devicemay be a device that communicates with a terminal device(or referred to as a communications terminal or a terminal). The network devicemay provide communication coverage in a specific geographic area, and may communicate with a terminal device located in the coverage area.

exemplarily shows one network device and two terminal devices. In some embodiments of the present application, the communications systemmay include a plurality of network devices, and another quantity of terminal devices may be included within coverage of each network device. This is not limited herein.

Exemplarily,is a schematic diagram of an architecture of the NTN system mentioned above. An NTN systemshown inuses a satelliteas an air platform. As shown in, a satellite radio access network includes a satellite, a service link, a feeder link, a terminal device, a gateway (gateway, GW), and a networkincluding a base station and a core network.

The satelliteis a spacecraft based on a space platform. The service linkrefers to a link between the satelliteand the terminal device. The feeder linkrefers to a link between the gatewayand the satellite. The Earth-based gatewayconnects the satelliteto a base station or a core network, which specifically depends on a choice of the NTN architecture.

The NTN architecture shown inis a bent-pipe transponder architecture. In this architecture, the base station is located on the Earth behind the gateway, and the satelliteserves as a relay. The satelliteoperates as a repeater for forwarding a signal of the feeder linkto the service link, or forwards a signal of the service linkto the feeder link. That is, the satellitedoes not have a function of a base station, and communication between the terminal deviceand the base station in the networkis necessary to be forwarded by using the satellite.

Exemplarily,is a schematic diagram of another architecture of an NTN system. As shown in, a satellite radio access networkincludes a satellite, a service link, a feeder link, a terminal device, a gateway, and a network. Different from that in, a base stationis provided on the satellite, and the networkbehind the gatewayincludes only a core network.

The NTN architecture shown inis a regenerative transponder architecture. In this architecture, the satellitecarries the base station, and may be directly connected to the Earth-based core network by using a link. The satellitehas a function of a base station, and the terminal devicemay directly communicate with the satellite. Therefore, the satellitemay be referred to as a network device.

The communications system with the architecture shown inormay include a plurality of network devices, and another quantity of terminal devices may be included within coverage of each network device. This is not limited in embodiments of the present application.

In embodiments of the present application, the communications system shown intomay further include another network entity such as a mobility management entity (mobility management entity, MME) or an access and mobility management function (access and mobility management function, AMF). This is not limited in embodiments of the present application.

It should be understood that, in embodiments of the present application, a device that has a communication function in a network or a system may be referred to as a communications device. The communications systemshown inis used as an example. The communications device may include a network deviceand a terminal devicethat have a communication function. The network deviceand the terminal devicemay be specific devices described above. Details are not described herein again. The communications device may further include another device in the communications system, such as a network controller or a mobility management entity, which is not limited in embodiments of the present application.

For ease of understanding, some relevant technical knowledge related to embodiments of the present application is first described. The following related technologies, as optional solutions, may be randomly combined with the technical solutions of embodiments of the present application, all of which fall within the protection scope of embodiments of the present application. Embodiments of the present application include at least a part of the following content.

With development of communications technologies, communications systems (for example, 5G) will integrate market potential of satellites and terrestrial network infrastructure. For example, a 5G standard makes an NTN, including a satellite segment, a part of recognized 3rd generation partnership project (3rd generation partnership project, 3GPP) 5G connection infrastructure.

An NTNis a network or network segment that uses a radio frequency (radio frequency, RF) resource on a satellite platform or an unmanned aerial system (unmanned aerial system, UAS) platform. A satellite is used as an example. According to different orbital altitudes, communications satellites are classified into a low earth orbit (low earth orbit, LEO) satellite, a medium earth orbit (medium earth orbit, MEO) satellite, a geostationary earth orbit (geostationary earth orbit, GEO) satellite, a high elliptical orbit (high elliptical orbit, HEO) satellite, and the like. A LEO is an Earth-centered orbit with a height of 2000 km or less or at least 11.25 periods per day, and eccentricity is less than 0.25. Most artificial objects in outer space are located in a LEO. A LEO satellite operates around the Earth at a high speed (mobility), but in a predictable or definite orbit.

Satellites with different orbital altitudes have different orbital periods. Exemplarily, a typical height of a LEO is 250-1500 km, and an orbital period is 90-120 minutes. A typical height of a MEO is 5000-25000 km, and an orbital period is 3-15 hours. A height of a GEO is about 35786 km, and an orbital period is 24 hours.

It may be learned fromandin which a satellite is used as an example that, a typical scenario in which a terminal device accesses an NTN system relates to an NTN transparent payload (payload) or an NTN regenerative payload. The bent-pipe transponder architecture shown incorresponds to an NTN transparent payload, and the regenerative transponder architecture shown incorresponds to an NTN regenerative payload.

In the NTN system, a terminal device located on the ground performs wireless communication by using an air platform. Different from a terrestrial network (terrestrial network, TN), the NTN generally has a relatively large transmission delay. Exemplarily, because satellites are usually located over hundreds of kilometers above the surface of the Earth, a propagation delay in the NTN is much longer. Specifically, the propagation delay in the NTN varies from several milliseconds to hundreds of milliseconds, depending on a height of a spaceborne or airborne platform and a type of a payload in the NTN.

Due to a relatively large propagation delay, a related problem may be necessary to be resolved when a technology in a terrestrial network is deployed in the NTN system. Exemplarily, in an IoT NTN of release-17 (release-17, Rel-17) or Rel-18, an NB-IoT technology is enhanced to support the NTN.

With development of an IoT technology, in many IoT-like cases in addition to NB-IoT, a reduced capability (reduced capability, RedCap) terminal device may provide a service very well. That is, the RedCap device is also necessary to be applied to the NTN system.

RedCap is a new type of terminal capability information introduced by Rel-17. A RedCap-related terminal device may have reduced complexity and a new power saving function, thereby being more conducive to large-scale commercial popularization and application in a 5G commercial network. NR is used as an example. RedCap may reduce a capability of a device in manners such as reducing a bandwidth, a quantity of transmit or receive antennas, and a rate, adjusting a modulation scheme, and introducing a half-duplex mode, thereby reducing complexity of the terminal device, and achieving a series of objectives such as reducing costs and power consumption of the terminal and prolonging a service life of the terminal. Therefore, requirements of RedCap are different from those of LTE for machines (LTE for machines, LTE-M) and NB-IoT.

It may be learned from the foregoing that RedCap supports a working mode of half duplex (half duplex, HD). In a working mode of half-duplex frequency division multiplexing (frequency division multiplexed, FDD), a communications device may transmit or receive data at different times and frequencies. Compared with full-duplex FDD (full duplex FDD, FD FDD), half-duplex FDD (HD FDD) may not require a duplexer, thereby reducing complexity and costs. When the HD FDD mode is used for RedCap, costs may be saved by about 7%. Exemplarily, a half-duplex FDD device may lower a requirement on a component in a radio frequency front end, and use a transceiver antenna switch and a low-pass filter with relatively low costs instead of a duplexer.